Florida Congress Watch

This blog is designed to keep an eye on the Florida Republicans in Congress that misserve their constituents and promoting people who challenge them. If you'd like to join this blog, e-mail me at quinnelk@hotmail.com

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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

No more pre-existing conditions, controlled health care costs, expanded access to affordable health care: I believe that Democrats, Republicans and Independents can agree that these are just a few of the vital health care reforms that needed to be addressed in Congress.

John Mica is not one of those people. He proved it when he voted against healthcare reform, but voted in favor of the Republican healthcare “alternative” bill. To be blunt, the bill he voted for was a, “get richer much quicker” scheme for big insurance companies, HMO’s and pharmaceutical companies.

The plan would only lower health care premiums by 0 to 3 percent by 2016 for 80 percent of Americans. These aren’t my numbers; these are from the bi-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

Mica’s shameful support for this bill, which was obviously written by drug and insurance companies, is a stab in the back to those of us paying more for less coverage in private health care plans (to say nothing of the Floridians who live in fear because they lack any health care coverage).

We all know that John Mica is an uncompromising career politician who puts his party over us. But to vote to spend billions to reduce insurance premiums by 3 percent, and call it reform is insulting. Mica’s small bore thinking is exactly what helped the American health care system to fall into the terrible mess we see today. Simply put, John Mica is applying 20th Century logic to a 21st Century challenge.

I’m running for Congress because we deserve a new approach to the new challenges we face. We cannot continue to allow Mica to apply 20th Century logic to the problems we face in the 21st Century.

If you agree, I hope you’ll stand with me in this campaign to hold Mica accountable for abandoning us on health care reform. Let’s send Mica the message today that we’ve had enough of his work for the insurance companies by contributing $25, $50, $100, $250 or more to my campaign today.

THE MOTHER OF ALL JOB CREATION OPPORTUNITIES

Currently there are an estimated 800,000 + jobs directly related to the clean energy sector, and hundreds of thousands more in related industries. Clean energy has the potential to add an additional 1.7 million jobs in the near term and 5 million jobs by 2020. The clean energy market is booming around the world, yet we are behind the curve here in Florida. In fact, the number of American clean energy jobs increased by 9.1% during the last decade as compared to a 3.7% in overall American employment.

But Germany and China are on the hunt too.

The German environmental technology sector is projected to account for some 16% of German industrial production by 2030. China has allotted more than $230 billion in economic stimulus funding to clean energy initiatives and—as a percentage of GDP—is investing 10 times more than the United States on clean power.

We don't need to just imagine these possibilities in Florida; we need to get to work creating these jobs in order to reduce the unemployment rate and get our local economies back on track. In Congress, that's just what I'll do.

MOMMY BOMB UPDATE

Operation Mommy Bomb has been declared a victory. Together with you, we were able to shatter all previous weekly donor records; and received an overwhelming outpouring of positive feedback from supporters like you. Thank you to everyone who helped make Operation Mommy Bomb a huge success!

HELP US KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING

Campaigns take money to be successful and, like it or not, Beaven for Seven is not immune to that fact. That's why I hope you'll dig deep to help me keep March strong with a contribution of $5, $25, $50, $100 or more by clicking here.

Your continued help will allow us to talk about creating the jobs of the future right here in Florida while we work to get rid of John Mica's 20th century mindset! So do what you can and contribute online today by clicking here!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Sunday, March 21, 2010

The Charlie Crist for U.S. Senate campaign today released the below statement from Gov. Crist following the House passage of the Senate government run health care bill:

“It is disappointing to see that President Obama and Democrat leadership convinced enough members of their Party, including Rep. Meek, to completely ignore the will of the American people, and pass their government run health care bill.

“This bill is comprised of secret backroom, sweetheart deals, includes a last minute Executive Order, and the passage of such a bill is a direct affront to the American people.

“Americans deserve better than this liberal, partisan legislation that amounts to a government take over of health care while raising rates, raising taxes, and significantly cutting Medicare."

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

As Minn. Gov. and Presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty travels to Orlando today to raise money for the Republican Governor's Association, Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman called on Pawlenty to let Floridians know who he will support in the state's primary. Pawlenty has refused to make an endorsement, even though his Political Action Committee's mission is "helping candidates and translating our ideas into policies that everyone can relate to and support."

"It's a simple question -- will Tim Pawlenty let Floridians know where he stands on the Crist/Rubio primary? Will he join Jim DeMint and the rest of the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party in endorsing Speaker Rubio? Or will he risk angering his base by endorsing Gov. Crist? The real question here is this: if Tim Pawlenty really considers himself a national Republican leader, shouldn't he have enough spine to say publically where he stands on the Florida Republican Senate primary?"

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Today in Washington the Republican Congressional Committee joined Charlie Justice as well as Democratic leaders in Congress in the movement to end the corruptive practice of earmarks that continue to drive the U.S. economy and budget out of control.

“It is refreshing to see that even the Republican Party can no longer tolerate the corruptive practice of earmark/pork-barrel spending that has gone on for far too long in our government. Democrats and Republicans agree that earmarks are corrupting our government and wasting taxpayers’ money,” stated Charlie Justice candidate for Congress FL-10. “Cong. Bill Young still clings to the idea that there is nothing wrong with pork-barrel spending and goes so far as to brag about it. About the only person left who thinks pork-barrel spending is a good idea seems to be Bill Young. The fact that he’s bragging about wasteful spending even as his Republican colleagues in Congress are pledging not to request any earmarks acknowledges how out-of-touch Bill Young is with reality and the struggles the people here back home are dealing with.”

According to Alex Leary of the St. Petersburg Time, Rep. Mike Pence, R-Indiana, chairman of the Republican conference acknowledged, “federal spending is out of control and the American people know it. Earmarks have become emblematic of everything that is wrong with spending here in Washington D.C."